Dwindle Dating

Idea to MVP

Connecting People.

The founders of Dwindle Dating came to us right after they had conceptualized their idea. They wanted to build an iPhone app that connected people within a specific geographic area and encouraged them to message instead of just swiping through pictures. We took their idea and turned it into a product.

Onboarding

Collecting the Right Information.

We designed Dwindle Dating so that users would have to go through very few steps to sign up. Using Facebook login allowed us to gather critical data points that helped initialize each user's profile. After login, the app only asked for four other user inputs to setup Dwindle's matching criteria.

Designed for Messaging.

Use Words, Not Pictures.

We designed the iPhone app so that it encouraged users to message each other and learn more about each other's personality. However, we realized that it would be difficult for people to use the app if they couldn't visualize with whom they were speaking. The dwindle down feature allowed our team to solve this problem by showing users five pictures of different people, out which only one was of the person chatting. As the chat progressed, a proprietary algorithm recognized that the two connected users were talking enough and would reward both of them by removing one of the random photos. Once a photo was removed, another was added to the remaining ones. This process continued until photos for only one person were displayed. At this point, the users would be permanently matched and could message each other whenever they wanted.

Node.js and iOS

Technology.

Dwindle Dating is a native iOS app with its backend built on Node.js with Socket.IO for real-time bidirectional events. We developed an algorithm that would, in real-time, match users based on location, age preferences, gender preferences and availability. Furthermore, we used Parse to fire push notifications each time a user was inactive on the app but received messages from people in the matches section.

Next Steps

MVP Successful.

The initial phase of the project was to get a product in the marketplace and test with users. It was well received by close group of initial users in Los Angeles. Based on the feedback received, we are now building out a full featured application for Dwindle Dating that will be launching on the US AppStore.